Prehistoric & Greco-Roman

From the prehistoric era, which is to say prior to written history, the presence of man is evidenced in the grottos of Cosquer, recently discovered by a deep sea diver near the city of Marseille (beautiful wall carvings and paintings dating between 30 000 to 20 000 years before J.C) or the grotto of l'Escale at Saint-Estephe-Janson where substantial traces of domestic fires were found. Examples of the Neolithic era (around 7 000 before J.C), when habitats were transformed, various oppidums (or oppida) build on hills are evident. The oppidum of Saint-Blaize at Saint-Mitre-les-Remparts, oppidum of Saint-Antonin near Aix-en-Provence, the oppidum of Istres, the camp of Laure at Rove. At Fontvieille, vestiges of the first cemeteries with stone markings. The oppidum of Entremont, at Aix-en-Provence, tells the history of the Salyens people of celto-ligurian origins masters of sculpture (very pretty stone heads now housed at the Granet Museum).

Caius Sextius Calvinus and his Roman legions brutally exterminated this civilization during the Ist century before J.C. About the VIth before J.C, the Phoenicians settles the area known as "Massalia" the present site of Marseille which is reputed to be the oldest city in France. They also established Arles and Saint-Blaise. During the Ist century before J.C, Rome supplanted Phoenicia and established Aix-en-Provence (Aquae Sextiae - translation "Waters of Caius Sextius Calvinus") and then moved further west, settled Arles (Arelate) and Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (Glanum) and finally Nîmes (*******)... established by the emperor Augustus as homestead payment to his victorious legions for their defeat of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra hence Nîmes' coat of arms the Palm tree and crocodile - and therefore, being the present day home of Lacoste® with its crocodile logo. Returning to the past or actually returning from Nîmes, on the present day autoroute, you will be following the actual Roman Via Domitia or ride the Via Aurelia north to south equally identifiable in Provence.

So much of the Roman era is preserved in Provence, the Antique Theatre and the Triumphant Arch of Orange, The ruins of Glanum and its arch and mausoleum, Marseille's garden of ruins and the old port, the Meyrargues Aqueduct and the Barbegal Aqueduct near Fontvieille, the world famous and perhaps best preserved Aqueduct is the impressive Pont du Gard near Remoulins. Arles is probably the best preserved and is classed as a "World Heritage" site by UNESCO. Its monuments include the amphitheatre, the outdoor theatre, the Constantine baths, the forum with its cryptoportics... a labyrinth or catacombs of underground grain storage. Arles contains the Alyscamps necropolis (This ancient cemetery used for centuries. It's Provencal name is a translation for Elysian Fields or "Champs Elysées"). Amongst the several museums Arles offers a modern building housing treasures from the Roman period as well as 3D representations of how the monuments looked at the time of their conception. There is also a 3D diagram of the working industrial flour mill which is part of the Barbegal site.